[Zweier]

I am just advising that I have significant slack on my timing chain as observed through the oil filler hole. Not only does the chain move side to side, but it also has almost 2 inches of slack when pulled straight up. I knew of the timing chain issues on pre-2015 models when I bought his car new. I thought I was safe with the updated timing chain and guides. I always changed the oil 2000km before it was due - my dealer let me do this. I also changed my oil mid-interval myself using LL14 oil. The car was never driven hard and saw mostly highway mileage. So, at 100,000km I have unloaded this car. Just couldn't drive it anymore with the potential of catastrophic failure. I cannot believe the ELW that BMW offered would not be applied to my vehicle. After owning BMWs for the last 10 years, this will be my last. I was not going to pay $4.6K for a new timing chain and guides with no guarantee I would be in the same boat in 3 more years - I do a lot of driving.

I am wishing all N20/N26 owner's the best of luck with their engines. I understand that this is not a prevalent as one would be led to believe on the internet/forums.

[Big_CG]

Was it making the dental drill whining noise? If not, it was probably fine. The tensioner is oil pressure driven so there will be slack when engine off.

[Zweier]

Originally Posted by Big_CG

Was it making the dental drill whining noise? If not, it was probably fine. The tensioner is oil pressure driven so there will be slack when engine off.

Yes, it was making the whining sound. Over the last 20,000km, my indy shop measured the progress at each oil change as it steadily increased.

[Big_CG]

Originally Posted by Zweier

Yes, it was making the whining sound. Over the last 20,000km, my indy shop measured the progress at each oil change as it steadily increased.

Bummer. First ive heard of it happening on a 2015+. I have a 2015 with no noise besides the typical N20 diesel clatter.

Coming from owning nearly all models of BMW for the last 20 years, I am pretty impressed with the N20 overall.

Pros:

Great power/torque
Great fuel economy
Compared to other previous BMW engines, it holds oil in pretty well
Very smooth power

Cons:

Sounds unrefined compared to N55
Questionable timing chain reliability

[tonytwocans]

I'm curious, did you use the engine start/stop feature? And did you consistently wait to rev the motor until it had time to warm up? I imagine this would take a while in Canada.

[Zweier]

Originally Posted by Big_CG

Bummer. First ive heard of it happening on a 2015+. I have a 2015 with no noise besides the typical N20 diesel clatter.

Coming from owning nearly all models of BMW for the last 20 years, I am pretty impressed with the N20 overall.

Pros:

Great power/torque
Great fuel economy
Compared to other previous BMW engines, it holds oil in pretty well
Very smooth power

Cons:

Sounds unrefined compared to N55
Questionable timing chain reliability

I really enjoyed this car. I wanted to keep it for the long haul. I just didn't want to drive the car to a point where the car has depreciated to a level where even a used engine isn't justified. And right now I wasn't willing to drop the money into a new TC for the peace of mind. I just wish BMW would have extended the ELW to owners of all N20/N26.

[Zweier]

Originally Posted by tonytwocans

I'm curious, did you use the engine start/stop feature? And did you consistently wait to rev the motor until it had time to warm up? I imagine this would take a while in Canada.

I never used the auto-stop-start feature. I did the Euro delivery and they coded it out for me at the Welt in Munich - default off on startup.

I always allowed the engine to come up to temperature before any hard pulls - I have an ELM327 with the Torque app with full gages. The engine heated up quickly in the winter. I'm in Toronto which isn't as cold as you might think! For the most part, this car saw a very easy life, mostly highway with the cruise control on.

[tonytwocans]

Thanks for the reply, I guess it really could happen to anyone.

[RoundelM3]

So far, my 2016 228i MSport convertible with the N26 has been problem-free. Only 23K miles, but no strange noises or other issues. Production date was 11/2015, so keeping my fingers crossed.

[Zweier]

Originally Posted by RoundelM3

So far, my 2016 228i MSport convertible with the N26 has been problem-free. Only 23K miles, but no strange noises or other issues. Production date was 11/2015, so keeping my fingers crossed.

My F23 was also a Nov 2015 build. It had the orange plastic guides which I believe are the updated parts. Hope your N26 keeps running well.